Agenda item

Notice of Motion 1

 

The Chairman informed Full Council that Notice of Motion 1, to have been moved by County Councillor Azhar Ali, had been withdrawn.

 

Notice of Motion 2

 

It was moved by County Councillor Barrie Yates and seconded by County Councillor Jeff Couperthwaite that:

 

Sanitary Bins for Male Toilets

 

This Council notes that three to six million people in the UK experience urinary incontinence.  This is often seen as a women's issue, but it is time to break the silence around male incontinence.

 

1 in 25 men aged over forty will experience some form of urinary leakage every year and 1 in 20 men aged sixty or over will experience bowel incontinence. As many as 69% of men may experience urinary incontinence following surgery for prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men.

 

Men who need to dispose of their sanitary waste often have no direct access to a sanitary bin in male toilets and are often forced to carry their own waste in a bag.

 

This Council believes that men should be able to dispose of incontinence products hygienically, safely, easily and with dignity wherever they go, and that men who need to dispose of their sanitary waste should have direct access to a sanitary bin in male toilets.

 

This Council resolves:

 

(i)  To support Prostate Cancer UK’s ‘Boys need Bins’ campaign and ask the Leader of the Council to write on behalf of the Council to our local MPs seeking their support for this campaign and Prostate Cancer UK's request for Government to update any necessary regulations to ensure that ‘suitable means for the disposal of sanitary dressings’ is provided in all toilets.

(ii)  That Lancashire County Council should introduce the provision of sanitary bins in all county council male toilets in both public and in council buildings.

(iii)  To encourage other providers of public and workplace toilets in our area to make male sanitary bins available in their facilities.

 

On being put to the vote the Motion was Carried.

 

It was therefore:

 

Resolved: - That:

 

Sanitary Bins for Male Toilets

 

This Council notes that three to six million people in the UK experience urinary incontinence.  This is often seen as a women's issue, but it is time to break the silence around male incontinence.

 

1 in 25 men aged over forty will experience some form of urinary leakage every year and 1 in 20 men aged sixty or over will experience bowel incontinence. As many as 69% of men may experience urinary incontinence following surgery for prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men.

 

Men who need to dispose of their sanitary waste often have no direct access to a sanitary bin in male toilets and are often forced to carry their own waste in a bag.

 

This Council believes that men should be able to dispose of incontinence products hygienically, safely, easily and with dignity wherever they go, and that men who need to dispose of their sanitary waste should have direct access to a sanitary bin in male toilets.

 

This Council resolves:

 

(i)  To support Prostate Cancer UK’s ‘Boys need Bins’ campaign and ask the Leader of the Council to write on behalf of the Council to our local MPs seeking their support for this campaign and Prostate Cancer UK's request for Government to update any necessary regulations to ensure that ‘suitable means for the disposal of sanitary dressings’ is provided in all toilets.

(ii)  That Lancashire County Council should introduce the provision of sanitary bins in all county council male toilets in both public and in council buildings.

(iii)  To encourage other providers of public and workplace toilets in our area to make male sanitary bins available in their facilities.

 

Notice of Motion 3

 

It was moved by County Councillor Jean Parr and seconded by County Councillor Lizzi Collinge that:

 

Improving Women's Health

 

Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM) causes a change in the microbiome of the vagina from good bacteria and lactobacilli to pathogenic ones. This is the primary cause of Urinary Tract Infections (UTI's) in older women. UTIs cause pain, irritation, and incontinence to many thousands of older women in Lancashire. Many are so affected that they require hospital admission, and some die through UTI related sepsis.

 

In the last 5 years, almost 40,000 women in Lancashire were hospitalised with UTI's. Many more go to their GPs, and many others suffer in silence. The current advice is to tell women to increase hydration, washing and finally to have antibiotics, which have some success, albeit temporary, in dealing with the condition. This comes with the ever-present risk of making the infection antibiotic resistant.

 

For the majority of women, the use of vaginal oestrogen is a highly successful treatment and can be applied in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, its efficacy is not well signposted by the medical profession, perhaps because until this year training on the menopause was not compulsory in medical schools.

 

This council requests that the Chief Executive writes to the Health Secretary and the Shadow Health Secretary, requesting the following action:

 

·  All leaflets and online information on this subject are updated advising sufferers that vaginal oestrogen is available and effective, and removing other out of date advice.

·  All GPs are made aware of the treatment and encouraged to prescribe it.

·  All GPs make a discrete record of the incidence of UTIs in their patients, and the effectiveness of prescribed treatment.

 

This council also requests that the Chief Executive:

 

·  Contacts the management of care homes within Lancashire and advises them of this treatment.

·  Arranges training for all social workers and supporting staff to ensure that they are aware of this treatment when assessing people for social care and updating their care plans.

 

On being put to the vote, the Motion was Lost.

 

Notice of Motion 4

 

It was moved by County Councillor Gina Dowding and seconded by County Councillor David Howarth that:

 

Lancashire County Council notes:

 

The Eden Morecambe Project is widely recognised to have a potential hugely beneficial impact on the local economy, across Lancashire and the North more widely - creating jobs, skills, training and supply chains in the green economy. The plans are now moving forward at pace.

 

Meanwhile the announcement last month that Lancashire will receive a huge funding boost of £494m over 7 years from 2025 to transform transport across the County offers the opportunity to guarantee that Eden Morecambe as a state of the art sustainable visitor attraction is supported by an efficient, reliable, quality low carbon transport system, to and within Morecambe as a visitor destination. Additional funding for transport attached to the devolution proposal for a new Combined County Authority will enhance the sustainable transport offer even further.

 

The County Council therefore resolves:

 

Subject to government guidance on the use of the funding, to strive to ensure that investment is prioritised in:

 

• Public transport options including electrification of the Lancaster - Morecambe - Heysham rail line/or battery alternatives.
• Active travel infrastructure for walking, wheeling and cycling including pedestrianisation/reduced traffic flows in streets of high areas of footfall.
• Reducing on street parking in residential areas to avoid disruption to residents. 
• Infrastructure for public transport and cycling and walking in Lancaster city centre in order to maximize the public realm benefits across the whole Lancaster district while fulfilling the spirit of the County's obligations within the Development Consent Order attached to the opening of the Bay Gateway to Morecambe.

 

During the course of the debate, the Vice-Chairman assumed the Chair as the Chairman had a prior engagement.

 

On being put to the vote, the Motion was Lost.